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“Why would it have been an abuse of discretion for the court to believe that processing 67 cents didn’t make sense because the cost would outweigh what they would pay?” Sotomayor asked Theodore H. Frank, director of litigation at the Competitive Enterprise Institute.

Frank is a frequent objector to class-action settlements, but on Wednesday became a rarity: someone who represents himself at the Supreme Court.

In reality, he said, a small percentage of class members claim their share of a settlement, so the payouts could be larger. And while Sotomayor noted that such cy pres settlements are rare, Frank said more will be on the way because of the 9th Circuit’s standards.